Receptacle contacts having cantilever beams for receiving cylindrical pins are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,651 discloses one such contact. However, prior art receptacle contacts have predetermined spring rates for a specific plating; i.e., a tin plating required a higher normal force than does a gold plating. Obviously prior art receptacle contacts designed for one spring rate had different overall dimensions than a contact designed for another spring rate where the material thickness is constant. This then sometimes necessitated different connector housings. Accordingly, it is now proposed to provide a method for making a receptacle contact where the spring rate can be changed without changing the overall dimensional envelope of the contact.